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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24982369">Survivor</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/shkanonyasutrice/pseuds/shkanonyasutrice'>shkanonyasutrice</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Battle Royale - All Media Types, Battle Royale - Takami Koushun</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character-centric, Gen, Post-Canon, Very light ship content</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:00:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,620</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24982369</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/shkanonyasutrice/pseuds/shkanonyasutrice</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A few snapshots of Noriko’s life following the program. [Post-program, one-shot]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nakagawa Noriko/Nanahara Shuya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Survivor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">On the day that multiple funerals were held across Shiroiwa for their classmates, Noriko and Shuya were hidden away on a boat due for America. They were sitting down, between multiple boxes in the ship’s cargo hold. Neither had spoken in a while, but what was there to say in that moment? They had reached the final part of Shogo’s plan for them to escape, and all they had to do now was wait to begin a new life in America.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"><em>A new life</em>. </span>
  <span class="s1">The words gave Noriko a slightly bad taste in her mouth. She wasn’t opposed to new experiences, exactly, but the circumstances surrounding her embarkment to America weren’t exactly wanted.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">First, her mind returned to her final conversation with her mother. Of course, the government had taken her brother hostage until her parents gave up her location, which Noriko refused to give. She knew they would return him eventually (or so she hoped), but her mother had made it abundantly clear that she should have given up her location.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s2">“They’ll let him go eventually, they have to. Mom, please, wouldn’t you rather have both children alive than one killed in the program?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s2">“You selfish little… you know what? I wish you </span>
  </em>
  <span class="s1">did </span>
  <em>
    <span class="s2">die in the program. At least I could hold onto the memories of a good, well-behaved daughter then. Instead, I just-“</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s2">“Like it or not, you’ll always have a daughter.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s2">“I don’t have a daughter anymore.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Noriko shook her head, as if trying to dispel the memory. It was just another bad memory to add to the list of several that had been made over the past week. The way she felt when she remembered her last conversation with her mother was nothing compared to the way she felt when she thought of her classmates.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She thought about a possible universe where one of them had died suddenly— in some kind of accident— how would she react? Even if she didn’t know them well, it would have shaken her badly, and would have absolutely been in attendance at their funeral. If it had been one of her close friends, she knew it would have left a permanent scar on her.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Now, she wondered if she had even had the chance to properly process the fact that she was living in a universe that was much worse than all those hypotheticals— all of them were gone. The ones she didn’t know very well, the ones who she spoke to occasionally, and worst of all, her closest friends— nearly all of whom had killed each other in a moment of mistrust.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And, she wouldn’t be in attendance for any of their funerals. Instead, she and Shuya were en route to a new life. They would have to assume identities where their past lives never existed, where they hadn’t lost so many in such a short span of time.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As she considered what was ahead of them, she looked up at Shuya. He was staring off into the distance. </span>
  <em>
    <span class="s2">Are you and I thinking about the same thing?, </span>
  </em>
  <span class="s1">she wondered, looking up at him for a moment. He glanced down at her, and when their eyes met, he smiled at her. She smiled back weakly, still not fully able to push away the thoughts that weighed on her mind.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The boat rocked on the water, causing the boxes to shift slightly. Once again, Noriko thought about the new life she was heading towards— with no family, and nearly all of her friends dead— in that moment, she couldn’t fathom how she could leave any of those memories behind.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p class="p2">Noriko and Shuya stepped into the apartment, which had been paid for by a group aiming to dismantle the program (at least for the first few months). Basic furniture covered the living room, but the curtains were still wide open. They had arrived late into the night, so the apartment was shrouded in darkness.</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As Shuya turned on the overhead light, Noriko closed the curtains. She took a moment to look around their new surroundings, finding that the apartment was quite comfortable-looking. It had enough amenities to ensure that they wouldn’t need to do any major renovations.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There were two bedrooms facing opposite each other— Shogo’s family friend had assured them that it would come with two rooms, unsure of whether or not they were just friends or more. Frankly, it felt like neither of them knew either— the thought of talking about their relationship felt strange so soon after everything that had happened.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Noriko picked up her rucksack, which had been packed lightly, and strode towards one of the doors. She pushed it back, noticing that it was quite small compared to her room back home. She tried to push the phrase </span>
  <em>
    <span class="s2">back home </span>
  </em>
  <span class="s1">out of her mind, knowing that if she kept thinking of Shiroiwa as her home, it would make it harder to move on.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Are you tired?” Shuya asked from behind, causing her to jump.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She turned around, and he held his hands up in apology, not realizing that she didn’t hear him approaching. She placed her rucksack down on the floor of the bedroom and nodded.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“A little... maybe we can take a proper look at the apartment tomorrow?” she suggested.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That sounds good to me,” Shuya said, and then awkwardly put his hand out, deliberating what to do for a moment before briefly squeezing her shoulder. “Sleep well.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You too,” she replied as she gently closed the door.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As Noriko began to get ready for bed, she could hear Shuya walking around his own room. She felt slightly more at ease at the extra ambient noise— it felt like a reminder that, despite everything that happened, she wasn’t utterly alone. She knew that they could consider themselves much luckier than past program winners. Having even just one person who knew exactly what you went through made things feel a little less lonely.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After a little while, she settled down in the bed, now feeling the sense of loneliness begin to weigh her down. Shuya had clearly gotten into his bed too, as the apartment was now completely silent, except for the distant ticking of the clock in the kitchen. </span>
  <em>
    <span class="s2">The first night is bound to be the most difficult, isn’t it?</span>
  </em>
  <span class="s1"><em>,</em> she thought, closing her eyes in the hopes of getting to sleep.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She didn’t sleep much on the journey to America, so by the time they arrived to the apartment, she felt exhaustion overtake her. Nevertheless, she found herself turning over every few minutes, unable to fall asleep. She wondered if it had to do with the anxiety of being in a new, largely unknown place. When she realized that she slept easier during the program, she felt like she could have laughed at the irony. Here, she was safe, and yet fell asleep easier during their time on that island.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s2">It’s the first night. It’s just going to take adjusting, that’s all it is</span>
  </em>
  <span class="s1">, she told herself, but felt unconvinced. She wondered if it was the fear of knowing nightmares of being back on that island would surely await once she fell asleep. She turned over once more, wondering if she could handle this alone.</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">Then, it occurred to her that she wasn’t alone— not really, anyway. After a moment of deliberation, she got up and left the room. She walked across the hall, and stood in front of the opposite door for a moment. She hesitated, feeling herself begin to blush, but put her embarrassment aside as she knocked on the door.</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Noriko?” Shuya responded instantly. His voice sounded clear, indicating that he had trouble falling asleep too.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m sorry, I couldn’t sleep,” she said as she opened the door.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, me neither.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They stayed silent for a moment, before Shuya spoke once more. “Do you want to come in?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She nodded, approaching the side of his bed. He scooted over to give her some room. She pulled back the cover and got under, and for a brief moment in the darkness of the room, they just looked at each other. After some deliberation, she wrapped one arm around his torso, settling her head against his shoulder. He froze up for a moment, and then wrapped an arm around her too.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They didn’t say anything further, but instead, closed their eyes in the hopes of finally getting to sleep. The anxiety of being in a new place Noriko felt didn’t immediately disappear, but feeling the warmth and comfort of being in someone else’s arms definitely made things feel a little less lonely. Feeling Shuya’s heartbeat quicken made her wonder if he was feeling the same.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When she finally slept, it was light and dreamless— she could still hear the ticking of the clock from the kitchen, and Shuya’s gentle breathing. The next morning, she woke up exhausted, but somehow, she didn’t care. Managing to avoid dreaming, and therefore relive any memories of her time in the program, was more than she could ask for.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As the weeks passed, Noriko fell into a comfortable routine. She tried to make sure to stay in the apartment as often as she could to keep both her and Shuya safe, knowing they were still being searched for. But, the days she looked forward to the most were the ones where she went out grocery shopping.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">At first, she stuck close by, visiting only the convenience store a few minutes away from their apartment. However, as time passed, she found herself venturing further out, until she ended up in the actual heart of the city. Once she found herself within the bustling crowds, Noriko found that a sense of calmness overcame her. She felt more anonymous in this American city than she did in the few days following her escape from the program. Back there, she felt a surge of fear every time she passed someone, knowing that everyone in the country had seen her face through news reports. Here in America, though, she was just another face in the crowd.</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">Once she had finished up her grocery shopping, she decided to check out a place that had been catching my her eye for the past few weeks. As she walked, clutching the plastic shopping bags, she stopped as she noticed a large group of teenage girls walking in front of her.</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Aww, come on, you have to ask him out or I’m going to do it for you!”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No, don’t you dare—“</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Dear Josh, every night I dream of you and I—“</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Shut up! You’re such a pain in the ass!”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The other girls burst out laughing at two of their friends’ bickering. Noriko felt a sickly feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched the girls. In her mind, she was drawn back to memories of her own group of friends— she could almost hear Yuka teasing Chisato, drawing laughter from the other girls. She could see them walking casually through the streets of Shiroiwa, occasionally glancing in the windows of clothing stores, before continuing their mundane conversations. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She couldn’t pinpoint the exact memory that came to her— it could have been after school, the weekend, or any time during summer. Those days, which felt so timeless at the time, now struck her with a mixed sense of both nostalgia and deep sadness. Her mind was drawn to the fact that mere days, weeks, months later, her friends would end up viciously murdering each other in a moment of mistrust, and another killed by a classmate who had impulsively decided to participate in the program. If she had known that their time together would come to an end in such a brutal way, she would have treasured every moment, and committed every outing with them to memory.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">One of the girls turned back, noticing that someone was watching them. She looked at Noriko in confusion, and that was enough to make her pick up her pacing, surpassing the group of girls. They were quiet for a moment, before she heard them begin to speak again in hushed tones, clearly wondering why a stranger had been watching them. As she continued to walk, she pushed the girls far from her mind, not wanting to be weighed down with thoughts of her old friends.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She continued walking until she reached the place that had caught her eye the other day. It was a Japanese convenience store— the only one she had seen in the city thus far. Looking in the window, she saw they mainly stocked imported food from Japan. What caught her eye, thought was the newspaper stand just inside the door.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As she stepped inside and approached the stand, knowing there would be a very slim chance that they would have Shiroiwa’s local newspaper, given how small the town was. She waded through them, seeing most major cities and a few large towns, beginning to lose hope. However, she froze when she saw a newspaper for the Kagawa prefecture.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She flipped through it, feeling initial relief when she saw that there wasn’t any mention of either her name or Shuya’s, but stopped when she reached a segment on the start of the new school year. There were various pictures of classes, ranging from elementary to high school. There were only two pictures from Shiroiwa, but she found herself staring at a particular one.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was this year’s third grade in elementary school, and the grainy picture unmistakably showed her brother. He didn’t look particularly happy to have his photo taken, but Noriko didn’t care about that— she had proof that he had been returned home after all, just as she told her mother. A little part of her had doubted her own words, but she was relieved to see she had been right after all.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She immediately picked up the paper, forcing herself to stop staring and close it, and after a second thought, picked up another bundle of papers, ensuring that the cashier wouldn’t suspect she was from the Kagawa prefecture. She couldn’t feel too sure of who was watching out for the survivors of the program. She also picked up various candy and other treats that she hadn’t seen in months.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Once she bought her items, she left the store, and sat on a bench nearby. She opened up the paper once again, looking at the picture of her brother’s class. He was safe, despite all her fears. More than ever, she wanted to know what was going on back at home. She had proved her mother wrong— but of course, her mother had no way of contacting her.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">If she could, would she contact her? Or would she still be unable to forgive her for not giving herself up to the government in the first place? Noriko was happy to know that, by the looks of things, her family were now living a rather normal life, despite how her escape had briefly disrupted that. She found herself wondering about her brother— she hoped he had been able to put aside the memories of the government capturing him.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What she wanted for him, more than anything, was for him to continue living a normal, happy life. If that meant that one day, she would be nothing more than distant memory for him, she would come to terms with that.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She got up, looking back briefly at the store. She decided that she wouldn’t frantically check the Kagawa newspapers anymore. From now on, she would allow herself to imagine that her brother was living a happy life. She didn’t want to think of the possibility of him encountering any hardships— and god forbid, the possibility that he might end up in the program one day too. So, she decided that she didn’t want to stumble across any kind of story like that in the paper. She had proof that her brother was okay, and that was all she needed.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Striding away from the store, she rejoined the crowd, once again becoming an anonymous face.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Sitting at the kitchen table, Noriko chewed on the tip of her pen. The notebook was opened to the first page, which was still as blank as it had been on Christmas Day, when Shuya had given it to her as a gift. That had been weeks ago now, and even though she had opened it every day, she couldn’t bring herself to write.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She knew why he had gotten the notebook for her. Prior to the program, poetry was one of her prime talents. It was something she had been proud of— the words came naturally to her, and she had filled page after page with her writing. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">However, ever since they had escaped the program, she hadn’t written a single poem. She hadn’t brought herself to buy a notebook, which was a reasonable excuse, but when she had received the notebook on Christmas Day, she knew it was Shuya’s gentle way of urging her to pick up her hobbies once more.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She understood, considering she had done similar. They had packed light when they moved to America, and thus, he had been without a guitar all this time. She had bought one for him for Christmas, but only heard him strum some chords on that day, and that was it. The thought of resuming their hobbies felt strange, even after so long.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Words floated around in her mind. She wanted to write something calm and peaceful, echoing her poetry from before. But, everything in her mind came back to the program. Writing about the sea brought on imagery of Kazuhiko and Sakura deciding to die together. Writing about strangers in the street transformed into the classmates she barely knew— envisioning Mayumi with that arrow sticking out of her neck. Whenever she envisioned a location, it was always a clinic or a hideaway in the trees. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Words tended to flow naturally from her from the pen to the page, but frankly, she was afraid. Once she started writing, she knew her mind would conjure up the violent images that had been permanently embedded in her memory. Instead of the peace she wanted to focus on, the notebook would be filled up with poetry that vividly relived Class 3-B’s program.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She had done her best to push away those memories, but they were always just bubbling beneath the surface, ready to catch her off-guard at any moment. She worried that any poetry she wrote would cause those memories to completely seize her mind, which terrified her more than anything. She lived with the program every single day, and it took everything in her not to let it completely suffocate her.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">With a sigh, she slammed the notebook shut, and put the pen down on the table. As she pushed her chair back, she heard the bedroom door open. Shuya strode out into the kitchen, glancing down at the notebook and then at her. He smiled a little.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You managed to write something?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His smile faded when she shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Writer’s block,” she said, shrugging lightly.</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">He didn’t need her to clarify. She knew that the reason he wasn’t playing the guitar was probably due to arising memories too— maybe not the same, but she knew that he would be reminded of talking to Shogo about rock, or playing around his friends.</p>
<p class="p2">“Hey, I have an idea,” he said. “How about we try to write a song together? I’ll do the music, you do the lyrics.”</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Noriko smiled at that. She still was in no rush to return to writing, but she knew that maybe if they worked together, they could create a piece of music that had no relation to their past whatsoever.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Sounds good to me,” she said simply.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He nodded, and returned to his room to get his guitar. Sitting on the couch together, Noriko listened to the chords he produced, and brought her pen to the page. Even though those memories, and that potential imagery, still bubbles beneath the surface, she found that slowly and carefully, she found herself beginning to write lyrics that had nothing to do with their past.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She only managed to write a few lines before she found herself struggling to come up with more, but it was enough. She had finally written something down, and with time, she knew that the notebook would hopefully be full of poetry and lyrics that had no residing violence or heartache.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p class="p2">A year had passed. It still hurt to think of the past, but she found that words came easier to her now when it came to writing— none of which related to the program. She had brought herself to begin talking to neighbours and cashiers she saw regularly. Somehow, despite how impossible it seemed a year ago, she had managed to lead a normal, quiet life.</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It took time, but she managed to finally sleep at night. She hadn’t been able to escape from nightmares, but they had been easier to handle when Shuya managed to shake her out of them, ensuring her that she was okay, she was safe.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As time went on, the nightmares came less and less. Her classmates always appeared, though, but it was a comfort when they came in dream-like memories instead.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No matter what, though, she always woke up worried for a moment that she was back in the program, in those hazy moments just after waking. As she slowly adjusted to her surroundings and woke up properly, she touched her neck, ensuring that there was no metallic collar there. Feeling her bare neck instead always came as a relief. <br/></span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She was far away from that island, and that mattered more than anything.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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